Investec Property Group announces record letting achievement for new mall in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands
Investec Property Group today announced a record letting achievement of the Liberty Midlands Mall in Chase Valley, Pietermaritzburg.
'The demand for letting space in the Liberty Midlands Mall has been phenomenal,' said Steve Grupel of Investec Property Group. 'We have already let 80% of the available tenant space, a year prior to completion of the mall, making this by far one of the most successful retail developments ever undertaken by Investec Property Group.
'We are also very pleased with the construction progress of this fast-track retail development and are confident that tenant occupation could be up to 100% on completion of the Liberty Midlands Mall, which is scheduled for September 2003. The mall will offer a total of 130 retail outlets. Apart from Game, Pick 'n Pay, Woolworths and most of the well known national retailers, the mall will also include lifestyle retailers such as hair salons and florists.'
Since the announcement of the approval for the application for the shopping centre in early March 2002, the R260-million development, then named Chase Valley Midlands Mall, has been sold by the original developers - Investec Property Group and RMB Properties - to Liberty Group. Investec Property Group were retained as the letting agents.
Grupel said that the considerable demand for letting space attests to the need for a retail shopping centre of this magnitude in the Natal Midlands.
The locality and accessibility from the N3 highway has also largely contributed to its popularity and desirability among national retailers.
Dan Barrett, chairman of MassDiscounters, a wholly owned subsidiary of MassMart, says, 'Game is awaiting the opening of the Liberty Midlands Mall next September with great anticipation as we have been well aware of the obvious demand for a large shopping centre in the Natal Midlands for many years. We were delighted when Investec and RMB Properties successfully managed to effect the deal for this development earlier this year. Our Game store, which is due to open in September 2003, will be our latest new generation store and will stock over 65 000 line items.'
Pick 'n Pay's, General Manager: Property, Izak Joubert said that Pick 'n Pay were very encouraged to see that Investec had achieved such significant success in the letting of the tenant space and were confident that the mall will prove to be a great accomplishment for Pietermaritzburg.
'We are proud to announce that the Pick 'n Pay in the new mall will be our flagship store in Kwa-Zulu Natal and we are fully committed to making it an exceptional supermarket experience for shoppers by providing the most contemporary specifications for a supermarket anywhere in the country,' he adds.
The mall will also introduce to Pietermaritzburg a new name in entertainment - CineCentre.
'The opening of CineCentre at the Liberty Midlands Mall next September is very significant for us as it will be our first presence in Pietermaritzburg since we began operating over 60 years ago,' commented Mr AB Moosa, the MD of Avalon CineCentre Group. 'The impressive letting figures vindicate our confidence in the mall and we are looking forward to providing Pietermaritzburg with great entertainment.'
Liberty Midlands Mall, which is currently being constructed on the city's landmark brickworks and quarry site in Chase Valley, Pietermaritzburg is expected to absorb the 30% outflow of Midlands shoppers who currently frequent the Pavilion and other shopping centres in the region. The development brings an increased capital injection and a new dimension to Pietermaritzburg. Road improvements totalling approximately R20 million include creating an additional off-ramp from the N3 highway and are already well underway.
Publisher: Investec Property Group
Source: Investec Property Group